Estimated costs climb again for proposed East County Justice Center

Projected costs for the long-awaited East County Justice Center have spiraled to $27.5 million -- nearly 70 percent more than estimates. And even with that increased price it would hardly resemble the grand vision promised by politicians.

Touted as a one-stop-shopping center for government services, the project now appears headed for a dramatic scaling back to combat poor planning and growing costs. That means east Multnomah County residents may not see county courts, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office and the Gresham Police Department under one roof.

County documents released late today calculate the Justice Center would cost $26.3 million without space for the sheriff's office or $27.5 million if only part of the sheriff's operation moved there. In either scenario, law enforcement would be lodged in space intended for courtroom expansion -- so the county would need more space and even more money in the future.

"I want to keep the costs down," Multnomah County Chairman Ted Wheeler said today. "The bottom line for me is, we have to live within our means. It's pretty obvious that the dream .¤.¤. is getting a dose of fiscal reality."

Wheeler pressed county staff for both options, which will be presented Tuesday morning to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners.

The new costs are based on comparable projects and do not represent actual estimates for the Justice Center, which does not yet have a formal building design and size. The original plan called for a 70,000-square-foot facility.

"This doesn't mean this is the direction we're necessarily going," Wheeler said today. "I just want us to be flexible in terms of keeping the lid on the price of the project." He spoke less than three months after vowing that the project would be "built as it was intended to be built."

Already, word of a scaled-back Justice Center is meeting opposition.

Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis said the city needs assurances that the $2 million contribution it has pledged will provide permanent housing for its police department.

"We would never be involved or spend the taxpayers' dollars in a way that gave us temporary space," Bemis said.

County Commissioner Lonnie Roberts, who represents east county, called the options "unacceptable" because they scale back or eliminate space for the sheriff's office.

"I wouldn't support that at all. That is absolutely insane," Roberts said. "We want something that strongly resembles the original" plan.

Since county commissioners first approved the Justice Center concept in 2005, nearly everything that could go wrong has.

Last year, the county moved forward using construction estimates nearly 2 years old. Since then, the preferred site fell through, some property at the new Rockwood location has yet to be purchased, and groundbreaking is months behind schedule.

Along the way, projected costs have escalated from the initial $16.35 million. In February, the most recent estimate jumped to $21.1 million.

The latest documents also increase the projected funding shortfall to between $4.1 million and $5.3 million. Already officials have sold or set aside properties to help pay for the center, but now they may need to auction more land, borrow money or tap other coffers.

The Justice Center marks Multnomah County's first capital improvement effort since a 2002 audit found that poor planning cost taxpayers almost $29 million in unrealized savings on four projects, including the vacant Wapato Jail.